Opinion No. 96-2

March 6, 1996

TOPIC: Recommendation of neighbor for state fellowship or internship that is a continuation of studies in government.

DIGEST: A judge may recommend a neighbor for a state fellowship or internship if the judge has personal knowledge of the applicant and may use court stationery to send the recommendation.

REFERENCES: Illinois Supreme Court Rule 62B of the Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 2 (145 Ill.2d R. 62); In Re Associate Judge Arthur Rosenblum, ___ Ill. Cts. Com. ___ (1993), Docket No. 92-CC-2; Illinois Judicial Ethics Committee Opinion Nos. 93-9, 95-3, 95-4 and 95-12.

FACTS

The State of Illinois has a program to provide clerkships or internships to college graduates to continue studies in government. They are administered by the Governor's office and require three letters of recommendation from each applicant. Forms for the reference letters are provided by the Governor's office. A longtime neighbor of the judge asks the judge to recommend him or her. The judge used the court stationery to send the recommendation.

QUESTION

Does writing a letter or recommendation on court stationery for a neighbor for a State of Illinois program to provide clerkships to college graduates to continue studies in government violate Illinois Supreme Court Rule 62B which prohibits a judge from lending "the prestige of judicial office to advance the private interests of others"?

OPINION

The judge may write a recommendation for a neighbor in these circumstances. Rule 62B's provision that a judge "should not lend the prestige of judicial office to advance the private interests of others" does not prohibit a judge from writing letters of recommendation for individuals where the judge's recommendation is based on personal knowledge of the talents, capacities, qualifications, or competencies of the individuals being recommended. The Official Commentary to Canon 2 of the American Bar Association's Model Code of Judicial Conduct (1990) indicates that that Canon was not intended to proscribe letters of recommendation by judges whose recommendation was based on personal knowledge of the individual being recommended. See Opinion Nos. 93-9, 95-3, 95-4 and 95-12.

Finally, the use of court stationery in these circumstances does not violate Illinois Supreme Court Rule 62B. Those asking for letters of recommendation would like to know something about those making the recommendations. See In Re Associate Judge Arthur Rosenblum, ___ Ill. Cts. Com. ___ (1993), Docket No. 92-CC-2, where the judge's use of court stationery in a landlord-tenant dispute was found not to have been an attempt on the part of the judge to exploit his official petition.